Fall 2014 e-News For Alumni

In a Boston Globe article, Jessica Means’17 tells why she chose P&S after being told by many that she would have to choose between medical school and work as a professional pianist (she now does both).

P&S students organized an event in September similar to TED Talks, conferences designed to spread ideas. The Columbia students called the Sept. 27 conference InnovateMed: CUMC and the City. Read more about the event here.

Pet therapy is offered weekly by the Center for Student Wellness to give CUMC students a break from their schedules. Read more.

Like many P&S students, Elvis Camacho walked a nontraditional path to medical school. Read about the former Marine is who now a second-year P&S student.

The Class of 2018 was welcomed to P&S with the traditional White Coat Ceremony. Read about the class and view a slide show of the ceremony here.

P&S AND CUMC NEWS

The new medical and graduate education building rising on Haven Avenue was topped off this fall, and several faculty members, students, and other medical center community members signed a beam that was ceremoniously lifted to the top. Read about the progress of the new building and the beam signing.

Ever since Columbia President Lee Bollinger announced that personalized medicine would be a Columbia-wide initiative, momentum has been growing in programs that fall under the endeavor. This fall, the university announced the appointment of a Duke University faculty member, David Goldstein, to head a new Institute for Genomic Medicine in partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Read more.

P&S is one of 10 medical schools chosen to participate in a national program meant to ensure that medical school graduates are able to perform core activities when they start their residency training. Read more.

A SELECTION OF CLASS NOTES

P. Roy Vagelos’54 appears in a video for the Journal of Clinical Investigation’s “Conversations with Giants in Medicine.” See the video here.

David Sheiner’63, former physician to President Obama, was profiled by a Chicago newspaper when he retired.

Harvey Schneier’67 is featured in a profile about his post-retirement volunteer work at Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center.

Oheneba Boachie-Adjel’80 was profiled in AAOS Now, the monthly publication of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, about his return to his native Ghana.

Sean Bidic’96 advocates for more patient education to improve patient satisfaction when it comes to breast augmentation. The article about Dr. Bidic describes him as one of a few surgeons in the United States with a master of fine arts degree

Devinder Singh’96, chief of plastic surgery at the VA Hospital in Baltimore, was appointed by the Maryland governor as chair of the State Board of Physicians. Read the announcement.

Anthony A. Virella’96 was ranked one of California's top 10 neurosurgeons. Read more.